The Effect of Loneliness on Executive Functioning in Young and Older Adults

Abstract

Loneliness has many risk factors (including being single, a woman, or socially isolated) as well as potentially negative effects on physical, psychological and cognitive health. Baumeister, Twenge, and Nuss (2002) suggested loneliness affects "self regulation" of effort; their notion of `self-regulation' appears to be similar to "executive function." This dissertation investigated the effect of temporarily induced loneliness on young and older adults' executive functioning, a critical ability for maintaining independence of older adults. The experimental design was a near replication of the Baumeister, Twenge, and Nuss (2002) experiment which primed loneliness in young adults by providing false feedback indicating a future of being alone. This dissertation extended their approach to older adults and examined whether loneliness priming impairs cognitive and executive functions, as measured by reading comprehension, the Stroop test, and the Trail Making task. Unexpectedly, over 40% of the participants were classified as lonely based on the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale with similar patterns of loneliness across both age groups. Non-lonely participants, regardless of age, who were presented with the future alone prime manipulation did not show the hypothesized effects of reduced cognitive function, on reading comprehension or executive function, failing to replicate the findings of Baumeister, et al. These findings are discussed in respect to their implications for theories of loneliness and executive function.